After a spell of intense rainfall, water levels in Mumbai’s key lakes have seen a sharp increase. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) reported that the usable water stock has reached 25.87 per cent of the total capacity of 14,47,363 million litres.
Upper Vaitarna holds 598.15 metres level with 661.56 million litres live storage and received 43 mm rain on the day. Modak Sagar is at 153.63 metres with 57,217 million litres and a rainfall of 6 mm.
Tansa`s level stands at 122.32 metres with 41,519 million litres and 6 mm rain. Middle Vaitarna rose to 253.26 metres due to a 1.03 m rise, reaching 45,502 million litres capacity with 18 mm rain.
Bhatsa and Vihar lakes are at 115.60 metres and 76.71 metres level, holding 1,50,021 million litres and 10,972 million litres, with rainfall of 3 mm and 7 mm, respectively. Tulsi stands at 134.82 metres with 3,031 million litres and received 16 mm rain. Total water stock across these lakes in 2025 is 37,44,19 million litres, with cumulative rainfall reaching 353 mm at Bhandup complex.
Within a single day of rainfall on Thursday, the water stock in the seven lakes that supply drinking water to Mumbai surged to 25.17 per cent (3,64,233 million litres or ML) by Friday morning, up from 13.18 per cent (1,90,771 ML) on Thursday morning. This marks a rise of 1,73,662 ML in just 24 hours. At full capacity, these lakes can hold a total of 14,47,363 ML of water.
The lakes supplying water to Mumbai include Upper Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Middle Vaitarna, Bhatsa, Vihar, and Tulsi. While Tulsi and Vihar are located inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Mumbai, the remaining lakes lie in Thane and Nashik districts. Over the past 24 hours, the catchment areas of these seven lakes received a cumulative 724 mm of rainfall. The India Meteorological Department had issued an orange alert for Mumbai, Thane, and neighbouring districts on Thursday.
As recently as Tuesday this week, lake levels stood in the single digits, at just 9.78 per cent (1,41,511 ML), sparking concerns over water availability in Mumbai. Earlier this week, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) clarified that no water cuts would be required and that the available stock would suffice until the end of July.
Additional Municipal Commissioner (Hydraulics Department), Abhijit Bangar, told mid-day, “We have observed in the past that catchment areas sometimes receive heavy rainfall overnight or within 24 hours, leading to a 10 to 12 per cent rise in lake levels in a single day.”
